"Gray zones" inadmissible in Europe where residents not protected by HR convention

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin during the meeting of Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers drew attention to the inadmissibility of the existence of "gray zones" in the European continent, where inhabitants are de facto outside the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights.

"The Ukrainian foreign minister said that Donbas and Crimea are now the "hottest" "gray areas" and added that the Ukrainian Crimea which is occupied by Russia and the situation in Donbas clearly demonstrate how one specific state can deliberately and purposefully destroy the system of human rights protection in the Continent," the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Klimkin noted the importance of the adoption on May 3 of this year by the UN General Assembly a resolution "Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)" and said that this decision should serve as a sign for the Council of Europe for the restoration of all violated human rights in Crimea, and is another step towards de-occupation of the peninsula.

In the course of his speech, Klimkin thanked the Council of Europe for the large-scale program to promote reforms in Ukraine, which is implemented with the direct and substantial support of the European Union.